Fact Vs. Fiction

In the scheme of things on Secondlife, you are here because you are interested in making skins and or makeup. In the coming tabs and information you'll find why I've built this, and what you can find to better your experience with the knowledge I'm going to give you.

For now, I'm Iokko (with an i not an L) Molko. Creator of .{yumyums}. and I've made skins for over four (4) years on Secondlife. I remember when all you could find was legitimate templates on the marketplace, and they were super expensive. You'd spend over $100 USD - $300 USD for a good starter template, and there were few and far in between. But I remember my first huge purchase, cost me over 25,000L. And that was for a body and head kits, at that point I was like stunned to say the least but at the same time enthralled in what was to come.

Go on marketplace today though? You can find one for as low as 100L, and sadly those aren't the templates you want at all. Those "templates" as the marketplace shows us, aren't even "templates" at all. Sadly they are nothing but a skin creators skin turned template, and when I say that in no means did the original skin creator give up their rights to make this so called "template". Below are samples of these types of false "templates" to stay away from.

**Let me say this here and now... THIS IS NOT A WITCH HUNT** My broom is in the closet for right now, and I only witch hunt to designers directly. These are merely to show you what these marketplace listings look like. If you have purchased one of these I am sorry. But I will not reveal the names of those who created these, the original designers who made the skins will know. You just focus on continuing to read!

Fact : Rare as it is, a template designer to only offer TGA or PNG files of the skin textures is very low. Most offer PSDs which can be used in photoshop/gimp.

Fact : The price is not always right, just because it looks high doesn't mean that it's a legitimate template. Do a little research before you impulse buy. There is a search where you can look up anything to deal with skin creators. And if your unsure. IM me in world : iokko Molko. And I'll help you!

Fact : 'But it offers so much, it must be the real thing'; wrong. This only means they are offering either the same layers on each one toppled on top of another creators work which is a no-no.

Fact : 'We work with creators'; wrong again. Unless the creator says they are working with someone, hardly have they ever worked with someone. And if they do, their profile will show it. So like the below picture involving The Body Co. Skins. 'In collaboration' is not true. It's there to make you feel easy about purchasing the product, which is not true at all.

Fact : 'This is so great, PSD and all, demo and some TOS' And then you get an empty box, fret not again make sure their templates don't look too erratic and different. That's how you know it's not legitimate!

Fact : Not all 'templates' are created equal!

Fact : Pricetags hurt, but are worth it!

Previously I mentioned spending a whopping $25,000L for a skin template. And by rough calculations, that's over $100 USD. Ouch right? And here your wanting to make your wallet bigger, not hurt it! Just know that when making skins and makeup it's a consistent pull on your wallet, you will be uploading a lot and demos and add-ons. Not to forget your vendor ad's, it all adds up. There are some pretty reputable skin designers on Secondlife, yea it'll cost you. But in the end is $150 USD worth it over court costs because you used someone else's skins? The price outweighs the trouble it could potentially put you through. Next up. I've showed you the bad guys, now lets end on a good note and show you some of the good guys. And let you know what to look for when shopping for a template!

**As a side note, template prices have come down since my hayday. So just know that when I say I did spend $25,000L yea I'm not lying and others can attest to the template costs years ago.**